Reviews
A Pain In The Ass
- Details
- Written by Matthew Toomey
| Directed by: | Francis Vebe |
| Written by: | Francis Vebe |
| Starring: | Richard Berry, Patrick Timsit, Pascal Elbe, Virginie Ledoyen, Laurent Paolini, Michel Aumont |
| Released: | April 9, 2009 |
| Grade: | B+ |
The Alliance Francaise French Film Festival recently wrapped up here in Brisbane and over 30 films were shown. Judging from the lengthy queues at the candy bar and the large audiences within the theatres, it was a big success. As is the custom, a few of the more high profile films from the festival will receive a national release over the coming weeks.
One of those has a particularly memorable title – A Pain In The Ass. I’m certain that a few cinemagoers will have fun going up to the counter and asking for their ticket to this particular film.
The title says it all. Ralf Milan (Berry) is a hitman who has been paid to eliminate a notorious gangster who will be testifying against the Mob. Ralf believes he has the perfect plan. He’s hired a hotel room with a perfect view of the courthouse. When the mobster turns up with his police escort, Ralf will take aim with his rifle and fire away.
There’s one thing he hasn’t counted on. In the room next door is a lonely, suicidal guy by the name of Francois Pignon (Timsit). His wife (Ledoyen) recently left him for another man and his life has been a mess ever since. When Francois tries to hang himself in the shower, it starts off a series of events that will make it more and more difficult for him to complete his assignment.
This is a rather amusing French buddy comedy with some laugh out loud scenes and an interesting assortment of characters. It was well received at the Festival and I think it is a movie you need to see in a packed theatre to help get you in the mood for the farcical storyline. Laughter is contagious, is it not?
Those more knowledgeable movie buffs might realise this is a remake of another French film from 1973. The screenwriter of the original film was Francis Veber and after 35 years, he has returned to act as both writer and director of this adaptation. In the interim, he has penned a few popular French flicks including The Closet, The Dinner Game and La Cage aux folles (later adapted into The Birdcage).
It’s a little too silly at times but I’m still recommending this for those looking for a chuckle over the Easter holidays. Provided you don’t get sit next to a couple who talk throughout the entire movie, it should be anything but a pain in ass.
Bottle Shock
- Details
- Written by Matthew Toomey
| Directed by: | Randall Miller |
| Written by: | Jody Savin, Randall Miller, Ross Schwartz |
| Starring: | Chris Pine, Alan Rickman, Bill Pullman, Rachel Taylor, Freddy Rodriguez, Dennis Farina, Eliza Dushku, Bradley Whitford |
| Released: | March 26, 2009 |
| Grade: | B- |
| | |
Inspired by the advice of a friend, Steven decides to hold a wine contest to boost publicity. He will pit the best wines from France against the best from the United States. Having secured some high-profile connoisseurs to judge the contest, Steven sets off for California to select the best the States have to offer.
He winds up in the Napa Valley and at a struggling winery known as Chateau Montelena. Owner Jim Barrett (Pullman) has put his heart and soul into the vineyard without success. He’s in debt up to his eyeballs and if his current crop doesn’t turn out to be fruitful, the bank will be taking control of the property. It’s his last shot at fulfilling his dream. Helping Jim is his hippy son, Bo (Pine), and a small team of loyal staff.
Bottle Shock is loosely based on actual events. Yes, this blind wine tasting contest took place and yes, the results were heard around the world. A story was printed in Time Magazine and a bottle of the winning red and winning white can be found today in the Smithsonian Institute of American History in Washington D.C.
Whilst I admit that I’m intrigued by this tale, I don’t think the film gives it true justice. I didn’t know at times whether it was supposed to be a comedy or a drama. Jim and his son take out their frustrations by fighting each other in a makeshift boxing ring in the middle of the vineyard. What was the point of these scenes? Is it meant to lighten things up? The relevance of Sam’s character (played by Australian Rachel Taylor) was also lost on me.
Those who enjoy a nice chardonnay might find the film more palatable than others but in my opinion, the best film made about wine tasting was Sideways (released in 2004). It won the Oscar for best adapted screenplay and if you haven’t seen it, I urge you to get down your nearest video store and do so.
Duplicity
- Details
- Written by Matthew Toomey
| Directed by: | Tony Gilroy |
| Written by: | Tony Gilroy |
| Starring: | Clive Owen, Julia Roberts, Tom Wilkinson, Paul Giamatti, Rick Worthy |
| Released: | March 19, 2009 |
| Grade: | A- |
When she won an Oscar last year for best supporting actress in Michael Clayton, Tilda Swinton told us all during her acceptance speech that "Tony Gilroy walks on water." She was referring to the film’s writer/director and yes, I agreed with her. I’m a fan of Gilroy because of Michael Clayton but also because of his scripts for the three Bourne movies.
Duplicity is Gilroy’s latest effort and it’s laced with style. With plenty of twists and turns, Gilroy has done his best to tease the audience and to keep them guessing. Not everything it as it seems. He’s also thrown in some snazzy, witty dialogue and it all adds up to a fast-paced two hours that will leave you smiling and thinking. It’s worth a second look just to see if you picked up on everything the first time.
Our two protagonists are Ray Koval (Owen) and Claire Stenwick (Roberts). He is a former MI-6 agent and she is a former CIA officer. Between them, they’ve come up with a plan to get filthy rich. They intend to use their backgrounds to get intelligence jobs at leading private companies. Once on the inside, they can sell trademarked secrets to competitors at a high price.
The focus of their attention becomes a top-secret product being developed a company called Burkett & Randall. Their CEO, Howard Tully (Wilkinson), has told his staff that they will soon be making a market announcement which will generate world wide attention. Claire is part of the counterintelligence team within Burkett & Randall and knows this is the opportunity that she’s been waiting for. All she has to do is find out what the product is.
Ray, on the other hand, has been working as part of undercover team within Equikrom, a fierce rival of Burkett & Randall. Its CEO, Richard Garsik (Giamatti), is using this crew to infiltrate Burkett & Randall so as to steal its ideas. When he gets word of this revolutionary product, he knows that his company must get there first or he’ll be ruined.
Duplicity is an entertaining ride. The story is told in fragments – it’s largely set in the present day but we occasionally slip back in time to learn the history of Ray and Clare. It’ll slowly help you put the pieces of the puzzle together.
Aside from the well-written screenplay, the film has been creatively put together. I liked the split screen camera work, the slow-mo opening credits, the bubbly film score from James Newton Howard and the one-on-ones between Julia Roberts and Clive Owen. It left me pondering that it can’t be easy dating a spy. These people are experts at deceiving others. How could you ever trust them? When you’ve got two spies dating each other, then it really gets interesting…
Thumbs up go to Duplicity and the man who once again proves he can walk on water, Tony Gilroy.
Knowing
- Details
- Written by Matthew Toomey
| Directed by: | Alex Proyas |
| Written by: | Ryne Pearson, Juliet Snowden, Stiles White, Stuart Hazeldine |
| Starring: | Nicolas Cage, Chandler Canterbury, Rose Byrne, Ben Mendelsohn, Lara Robinson, Phil Beckman |
| Released: | March 26, 2009 |
| Grade: | C |
John Koestler (Cage) is an astrophysicist who works at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. One day, his young son, Caleb (Canterbury), brings home a very strange looking letter. It’s from a time capsule buried at his school 50 years ago. Each child was given a letter from the capsule and it was supposed to contain an image drawn by the students from 1959 showing what they think the future would look like.
Caleb’s letter contains nothing but numbers. John shrugs it off as some silly hoax but late one night over a few wines, he takes a closer look. There is no randomness about this piece of paper. It contains the date of every major natural disaster since 1959 as well as the number of people killed. How could this be possible? How could someone have predicted this?
Even scarier is the fact that there are only a handful of disasters on the letter which are yet to occur. What happens when we reach the last one? Will it be the end of mankind?
This sets John on a quest to make meaning of this. Is there a reason why he came into possession of this document? His first step is to try to track down Lucinda Embry, the person who wrote the letter, and find out what is going on…
There’s a lot about the story that I can’t divulge because this is a thriller-type movie and I don’t want to spoil it for those interested. I will say that the film, and particularly its ending, will divide audiences. There are two subjects which are always a "hot potato" when it comes to cinema – politics and religion. This film deals with the later and as I’ve already alluded to, it won’t sit well with everyone.
I admit to not liking it. The premise itself is interesting but I was left disappointed by the finale. I also thought the acting was dreadful. The dialogue was stiff and I’d like to think that if I was in the same position as John, I’d do things a lot differently.
There’s an Australian connection to the film as it has been directed by Alex Proyas (Dark City) and co-stars Rose Byrne (Troy) and Ben Mendelsohn (Australia). Their talent is not enough to save what was an extremely lacklustre two hours of my life.
Confessions Of A Shopaholic
- Details
- Written by Matthew Toomey
| Directed by: | P.J. Hogan |
| Written by: | Tracey Jackson, Tim Firth, Kayla Alpert |
| Starring: | Isla Fisher, Hugh Dancy, Krysten Ritter, Joan Cusack, John Goodman, John Lithgow, Kristin Scott Thomas, Julie Hagerty |
| Released: | March 12, 2009 |
| Grade: | B |
It follows the usual romantic comedy formulas but you can still have fun with Confessions Of A Shopaholic. It’s what I like to call a "popcorn flick" – a film which provides entertainment above substance. There’s nothing wrong with that of course. Sometimes, two hours of "escapism" is just what we need.
The person who breathes life into the far-fetched screenplay is Australian star Isla Fisher. It’s her first major leading role having been a worthy supporting player in films such as Wedding Crashers and Hot Rod. She plays Rebecca Bloomwood, a young woman living in New York who works for a gardening magazine.
To use the term from the title – Rebecca is a "shopaholic". She can’t help herself. She loves the thrill of walking past a shop window and seeing something that she simply must have. It should come as no surprise to learn that she has 12 credit cards, all of which are near their maximum limit. When her current employer goes bust, Rebecca finds herself desperately looking for another job. Rebecca has always wanted to work at Alette Magazine, a high-profile publication released by fashion guru Alette Naylor (Thomas). She thinks she’d be perfect given her love for the industry. Sadly, there’s no current position available. Looking to find a way in through the back door, she applies for a job at Success Savings – a finance magazine run by the same company. Rebecca thinks she can use it as a platform to something bigger.Of course, Rebecca knows nothing about finance. Her new boss, Luke Brandon (Dancy), realises that fairly quickly. He sees potential however. Rebecca starts a column called "The Girl With The Green Scarf" which becomes a smash hit with readers. She takes complicated financial issues and helps explain them using easy-to-understand metaphors. It’s not all rosy for Rebecca however. She soon finds herself falling in love with her boss. She should risk their friendship and go for something deeper? Rebecca is also struggling with her shopping addiction. The self-help sessions she’s been attending haven’t been working at a nasty debt collector is hunting her down. What’s a troubled girl to do? Some people have said that given the current economic climate, this isn't exactly the most politically correct movie. To watch a girl spend so frivolously may not sit well with everyone. I’m sure the governments of the world wouldn’t mind. Just think about what Rebecca could do with Kevin Rudd’s upcoming bonus! I’m not too perturbed by the subject material. It’s not supposed to change the world – it’s just there to provide a few laughs. The director is Brisbane born, P.J. Hogan, the guy responsible for such romantic classics as Muriel’s Wedding and My Best Friend’s Wedding. This is far from his best work but I like his style. He coaxes a great performance out of Isla Fisher and gives the film some colour, glitz and glam. I also liked the romance between Fisher and Hugh Dancy. We all know they’re going to end up together but I enjoyed the banter and foreplay in the lead up. With some nice cameos from the likes of John Goodman, Joan Cusack and John Lithgow, Confessions Of A Shopaholic was not the disaster that I thought it might be.
Two Fists One Heart
- Details
- Written by Matthew Toomey
| Directed by: | Shawn Seet |
| Written by: | Rai Fazio |
| Starring: | Daniel Amalm, Ennio Fantastichini, Rai Fazio, Jessica Marais, Tim Minchin, Paul Pantano |
| Released: | March 19, 2009 |
| Grade: | B- |
Two Fists One Heart is a new Australian film set in Perth. Our main protagonist is Anthony Argo (Amalm), a young Aussie boxer of Italian heritage. He is trained by his father, Joe (Fantastichini), who was once a successful fighter himself. Joe pushes his son hard. He wants Anthony to be the best boxer than he can be.
After winning a major title, Anthony wants to take a break from the sport and spend time with his new girlfriend, Kate (Marais). This doesn’t sit well with his dad and arguments ensue. In the wash up, Anthony moves out of home and turns his back on the sport. Things get even messier when Joe finds a new rising star (Fazio) and starts treating him like his own son.
The film has been written by Rai Fazio, who has one of the leading roles. He has drawn on his childhood experiences and the film’s title is one of his own dad’s favourite sayings. Rai too was trained by his father and won over 50 amateur fights.
Two Fists One Heart has a "been there before" kind of feel. You always know what’s around each corner. Further, none of the characters will blow you away on the "interest scale". There’s nothing wrong with the performances but I didn’t care deeply about any of them. Perhaps it’s just me. I’m not sure.
I don’t want to be too critical of the movie because I like supporting Australian cinema and this film is worth a look. So let me finish by giving it a mild recommendation and say that you could do a lot worse if you’re heading to the cinemas this weekend.